Senilis Verminosa
"Verminous Weakness" Senilis Verminosa is a very potent supervirus created by the Old Kodian Republic during The Kodian Hemorrhage as a weapon of mass destruction to be used against the Dardarian Dominion's planets and facilities. Senilis Verminosa was discovered on the ruined OKR planet of Astara, along with a number of other very dangerous prototype weapons. Senilis Verminosa, although classified as a weapon of mass destruction, does have plenty of information released to the public thanks to the DOPI. Although the virus is contained to Astara, it is believed that certain planets have a tendency to breed illnesses similar to Senilis Verminosa and as such should be handled in a similar manner. To aid in this, the DOPI has released plenty of information on Senilis Verminosa and its various strands, to ensure that no planets affected grow unsalvageable. Symptoms: #A person is first infected through proximity to rodents or other small animals, through exposure to the virus itself, or through a transmission of bodily fluids from a person already in the more advanced stages of infection. These animals are not physically affected by the illness, but have their behavior drastically changed. They are no longer afraid of humans, require less food, water, or oxygen, and often times can be seen gathering in large groups to go out and hunt for people to spread the illness to. #Once a person is infected, they undergo no visible changes detectable by any known tests. Instead, the virus works its way into the victim's cells and slowly alters their DNA, weakening the bonding enzymes holding the strands together. This process takes only a few hours. #Now that the DNA has been sufficiently weakened, the virus mutates and becomes far more aggressive. The virus attaches itself to DNA strands and separates them, as if undergoing mitosis. The virus creates totally new strands of DNA to compliment the originals, causing slight phyiscal changes in the victim. These can include new eye or hair color, skin discoloration, etc. #Now a day into infection, the virus has been allowed to go through the person's entire body and change their DNA. Visible signs of infection now include changes in physical ability, appearance of tumors, elongated limbs, loss of mental faculties, etc. The new DNA is so drastically different from the original version that the victim's body attempts to fight off the new cells, ultimately killing the person and sending their body into the early stages of decomposition. This does not stop the virus, however. The virus, now unhindered by the victim's antibodies, is able to reach the person's brain in a matter of minutes, latching onto the brain cells and taking complete control over the person's mind. The virus then reanimates the corpse, bringing it back to life with most of its original abilities intact. #The virus now controls the victim in their entirety, the original person now long dead and replaced. New symptoms include drastic behavioral changes (aggression, desire to harm or bite others, etc.), increased strength, newfound inability to speak, visible decomposition of certain parts of flesh, and the appearance of more advanced mutations. In this stage, the victim is now capable of spreading the illness through contact, and has the desire for spreading the virus as its only driving force. Certain parts of the victim's bodies can be seen decomposing at separate rates from other parts. This is a sign of the virus attempting to replace body parts or sections with more advanced mutations, and, if left alone for too long, can create more dangerous versions of the infected. #A day and a half after the first point of infection now sees the more advanced forms of infected beginning to appear. The virus seems to have a sort of hivemind connection between each individual that becomes a thrall, enabling them to coordinate how many people will turn into larger or more dangerous variants. Past this day and a half mark, the infected will continue to evolve and become more and more dangerous as time goes on. The Hivemind: Little to nothing is known about the Hivemind that manipulates the Senilis Verminosa supervirus. What is known is that it is real, incredibly intelligent, and malignant. DOPI scientists have been unable to pinpoint whether or not the Hivemind has a physical manifestation, or if it is instead some biproduct of the infected individuals' combined psychic potential, but they do know that it is a sentient and thinking creature with the intent of destroying all life in the Universe. Despite the fact that Senilis Verminosa was created by the Old Kodian Republic, it appears that the virus has created itself a master- some supersentient being with incredible knowledge of strategy, psychology, and the sciences. It is theorized that the Hivemind controls the forces under the Senilis Verminosa virus's effects, commanding the thralls to certain areas to counter and actively fight back against attempts to kill it off. It is also believed that the Hivemind can gift individuals immunity to Senilis Verminosa, but does so very sparingly. Only 1 individual has been spared by the Hivemind, and was given a direct link to the Hivemind's knowledge, allowing them to understand and know the virus's true intentions and all that it wishes to do to the Universe it inhabits. This individual has been reluctant to give over any information to the DOPI or his captors, but does hint every so often that the Hivemind has great plans for the sentient races, and plans on carrying out its original intended purpose of wiping the Universe clean of sentient life. It is also widely accepted that the Hivemind is behind Senilis Verminosa's rapid mutations and the various-yet-standardized effects it has on an infected population, directing certain infected victims to become one mutation or another, in order to best benefit the Hivemind. The Hivemiund has never directly spoken to any uninfected individual, but has instead opted to speak through them, leading DOPI scientists to believe that its capabilities are directly linked to the virus itself, or the effects that it has on its victims. The DOPI and MRPU have dedicated extensive resources and many years searching any and all information on the Hivemind, but it is believed that most, if not all, of the OKR's knowledge of the entity was lost during the Hemorrhage. Types of Infected: Although Senilis Verminosa has the capability to give each person totally unique mutations, it seems to favor certain ones over the variety. Especially in the early stages of an epidemic, Senilis Verminosa will make use of very specific infected types, specifically designed (and possibly stored in the viruses cells' own DNA) for certain tasks to aid the epidemic. Once the epidemic has taken over an area, mutations become far less predictable and less combat-oriented, often focusing on building defenses out of hardened flesh, putting virus spores into the air, etc. # The Weakened: These are the basic infected victims in the earlier stages of infection. They are drastically slower than the normal person, or the original victim prior to their infection, but no longer have the subconscious need for self-preservation, meaning that their full strengths are released. They can only spread the virus through bites, and are usually employed in large numbers. Tougher than their uninfected counterparts, and with a far higher tolerance for pain, The Weakened require that their entire brains are destroyed in order to put them down for good. If only one section of brain is destroyed or damage, the virus will replace that missing or damaged section with an improved and mutated one. # The Team: A slightly more advanced form of infected created when the corpses of multiple Weakened are placed in close proximity to one another. Even if their brains are destroyed, the viruses inside the individual cells continue to operate, and will still actively seek other Weakened for aid. If multiple corpses are placed near to one another, or multiple people are infected near one another, the virus will mutate them both in ways that will end with their permanent attachment. They will become physically bound together, kept in place through flesh and bone bridges or tumors. This leads to towering monstrocities, with many limbs and mouths and eyes. They are faster than The Weakened, as well as stronger, but lack the maneuverability and are no doubt infected beyond saving. The Team are often employed alongside large numbers of The Weakened, in hopes that Weakened will die and allow the Team to absorb them, adding more and more bodies to the biomass. The longer a Team is allowed to live, the larger and stronger and tougher it will become. Teams have been known to absorb entire buildings, if left for long enough. Teams can spread the virus through bites, or other contact with bodily fluids. # Smokestacks: These advanced infected monsters can be either humanoid or animals, and require at least a week of mutations before they can function at their best. Smokestacks are gifted, by Senilis Verminosa, with advanced mutations that give them large cylinderical tubes jabbing out of their spines, made entirely out of vertebrae. These stacks are attached to new organs contained within, that are filled with tumors of infected stem cells that breed the virus. Once an organ is full, the virus cells are released into the air. The tumors held within can also be launched out of the tubes like a bullet. The virus that is ejected into the air infects anything nearby, and also buffs monsters already into the more advanced stages of infection, often upgrading them and providing them with the necessary virus cells to adapt perfectly to the situation at hand. These creatures are often either hunched-over humans or quadrapedal animals, as their height and mobility are harmed severely as a result of the tubes. Smashing these tubes causes major bleeding and great pain to the creature, sending it into a ferocious rage. Contact with either the blood or the viral air is almost guaranteed to cause infection. #Draggers: One of the more advanced types of possible mutation keeps some things the same and completely alters others. The Dragger is a human that has been infected for over 3 weeks, giving the virus enough time to change the person's skeletal structure. The flesh and muscle around the hands have decomposed and fallen away, allowing the bones to fuze together and elongate to form large hooks. No flesh regrows over these new hooks, but an enamel-like coating is developed, something similar to that of human teeth, most likely done to ensure that the blades are extra strong and do not erode over time. These creatures have their eyesight lessened dramatically, as well as obtaining sensitivity to light. This light sensitivity is done to goad the creature to darker areas, where it can hide and await its prey. Draggers use their incredible hearing and intense speed (developed through the bolstering of arm and leg muscles) to charge from the shadows and drag unsuspecting survivors off into the distance. It is believed that Draggers bring their victims to the nearest Team or Weakened, where they can be infected. Draggers do not have any infecting capability themselves. #Collector: A rare infected type that seems rather basic in terms of physical mutations, but in reality is far more dangerous than they appear. Collectors can begin appearing only a few days after the first infection, but rarely pop up that early. Collectors are gifted with an extremely strong link to the Senilis Verminosa hivemind, allowing it to receive orders from its various infected brethren from almost anywhere. Collectors are the scavengers and medics amongst the various types of Senilis Verminosa mutations, using what was once its stomach to grow balls of Senilis Verminosa viral tissue (used to repair damage allies), and bringing dead bodies (of either infected or dead survivors) to other infected for absorption or reanimation. Collectors are almost never seen, even if they are present, due to their importance as battlefield scavengers and biomass collectors. They are sometimes seen during engagements, distributing their stomach-grown spore sacks to damaged friendlies. They can infect others through their stomach-grown spore spheres, through bites, or through contact with bodily fluids. #Lictor: A rather uncommon form of infected that is used in areas where uninfected individuals are strongest. Where the uninfected members of a population put up a fight the heaviest, Lictors are deployed to handle the toughest areas of resistance. They are large and hulking bipedal masses of flesh that usually stand at 8 to 10 feet tall, with at least one arm completely mutated into tentacles. Lictors are created in a similar manner to Teams, whereby a group of infected corpses are placed in close proximity and given enough time to properly mutate in a cycle that usually lasts close to a month. This allows for the creature to completely absorb and integrate the biomass, changing the skeleton as well as the muscle and tissue above it. This also means that the Lictor has the collective intelligence of all of the corpses necessary to make it, giving it an enhanced sense of strategy and allowing it to use its abilities effectively. Lictors use their massive arm of tentacles to constrict enemies, using the coating of Senilis Verminosa virus cells to infect anyone caught in its grasp. The tentacles are also used to flip vehicles and even small tanks, as well as tear through metal walls and other defenses. The holes covering a Lictor's stomach and other, smaller, arm were at some point created by severe wounds the creature suffered but survived, allowing the virus to make new use of the new holes. These holes can now ooze Senilis Verminosa spores and virus cells passively, infecting any area that they grace with their presence. The large plating of grey flesh that covers a decent portion of a Lictor is dead and is kept in a state of rigor mortis, making it act as an effective form of armor plating that is resistant to most conventional melee weapons and even kinetic firearms (but not railguns).